One of the hardest parts of editing a wedding video is finding the song that matches the couple. So Rachel and I dug through Soundstripe’s library and pulled out our fifteen favorites, split into ambient, epic and dance, and I want to tell you how I’d actually use each one in an edit.
And yes, this one is sponsored by Soundstripe. The whole playlist is here if you’d rather just go listen for yourself, and the signup link is here with the coupon code WHOISMATT for 10% off a monthly or yearly subscription. That’s an affiliate link.
Worth saying up front: this is from 2018. Soundstripe adds music constantly and tracks do leave libraries, so some of these fifteen may not be there anymore. Treat it as a way of thinking about song choice as much as a shopping list.
Ambient
The first five are what I’d call ambient. No crazy builds, no big volume changes, pretty level throughout. That is exactly what makes them good for putting audio over: toasts, letters, ceremony audio, anything where people are talking and the music needs to stay out of the way.
- The Rain by Isaac Joel
- Montana by The Seasons
- Parapluie by Brique a Braq
- Hotel Miracle by Travis Loafman
- I’ve Always Been With You by Autumn Everywhere
The one I want to point at is the last one. What I love about I’ve Always Been With You is how quiet it is. Picture the reception, everybody dancing, the song hitting, and then you cut to this. Suddenly it’s quiet and still. Having that as an option in the bank is worth a lot.
Epic
Now the emotion of the video changes. You’ve shown the prep over something ambient, and it’s time for something bigger. The bride is putting on her dress. The groom is tying his tie, the last thing he has to do to be ready. She’s starting down the aisle. That’s where the epic songs come in.
- Future by Manners
- By My Side by The Emerson Year
- Sea Of Clouds by Caleb Etheridge
- Expansion by Flux
- A Song For You by Be Still The Earth
I actually used Future in Henry and Victoria’s film. It’s such an adventurous, hopeful song.
Expansion is the one to watch for structure. It goes quiet in the middle and then hits at 2:22, which is exactly the kind of thing you can build a ceremony cut around. Line that hit up with the officiant’s line and it does a lot of work for you.
Dance
You start quieter with ambient, build through epic, and then, much like a dubstep track, you need the drop. That’s the dance section. Energy goes crazy, everything’s fun.
- Cry Out by Adrian Walther
- Yours (Bloom & Bridge Remix) by My Buddy Mike
- On Fire by Emorie
- Wild Ones by Jessie Villa
- Deeper by Fey Foxx
A few edit notes on these.
On Cry Out I’d cut off the intro entirely, start further in, and fade the music up under the DJ saying “now introducing Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so,” so the music hits as they walk in.
On Yours, as it builds toward the drop, I’d cut faster and faster until it’s nearly frame by frame right into the hit.
If you want to go deeper, I’ve also got How To Smoothly Transition Between Songs In Videos & Wedding Films.
On Fire is the one for a couple who can’t quite handle the crazier tracks. It’s still very pretty and very usable, and the ending in particular would work beautifully for an exit, couple walking out, everyone cheering, quiet song underneath.
Wild Ones has lyrics at the top that I don’t think are positive enough for a wedding video. The good news is you can hit the dropdown on the track and there’s an instrumental version, so I’d run the instrumental up to the drop and then cut over to the vocal for the part I do like.
And Deeper is the craziest, saved for last on purpose. Quick cuts, speed ramping, mirroring shots, flipping them, all of it. You need a couple and a dance floor that can handle it, but if you have one, it’s a fun song to edit to.
What Happens If You Cancel?
Ever since I made my guide to music licensing sites, people keep asking me the same question: if I cancel my Soundstripe subscription, are my licenses still good? Are my old videos now illegal?
No. Soundstripe licenses are valid forever. Cancel the subscription and the licenses you already pulled stay valid. You’re fine.
It took Rachel and me a while to narrow this down to fifteen, and there are plenty more in there. If you want unlimited royalty free downloads for your videos, Soundstripe is where I’d start, and the code WHOISMATT takes 10% off.